No. 16 Volleyball Bounced from Nationals
by Garrett Suchanek
Saturday afternoon Walz Arena was energetic and ready to witness the first national tournament match in Concordia volleyball history. Despite the spirited atmosphere, the No. 16 Concordia Bulldogs fell to Olivet Nazarene in straight sets 25-23, 27-25 and 26-24. The Bulldogs finished their season with a 26-9 record.
The Bulldogs played competitively all match, but had to do so without senior Claire White for most of the match. Early in the first set, White went down with an apparent ankle injury. Later on in the match, White returned, but left again with a separate injury from before.
Despite playing without White, the Bulldogs rallied around each other and received a spark from sophomore Mikayla Higgins, one of many players who filled in for White. Higgins collected nine kills for Concordia.
After dropping the first set, the Bulldogs went back and forth with the Tigers until Concordia manufactured a run to lead 23-19. However, the Tigers rallied with four straight points to pull even at 23.
The Tigers fended off two set points before forcing an attack error by the Bulldogs, which was followed by a kill to give Olivet Nazarene a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, the Bulldogs fought again. Concordia created some momentum with a 19-15 lead, but it was short lived.
The Tigers went on an 8-5 run to pull within one at 24-23. From that point on, the Tigers won three straight points to claim the win as well as a trip to Sioux City, Iowa, for the next round of Nationals.
Concordia was led by junior Paige Getz, who finished with 14 kills, while junior Taylor Workman pitched in 10 kills.
